Maternal Health

A new report presented by the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) and Centre for Reproductive Rights (CRR) have flayed widespread detention of women who cannot pay medical bills upon delivery.

The report also indicated that the Federal Government has not done much to reduce the high maternal mortality rate from 2008 to date.

It was a Tuesday morning. Passengers waited at the creek to be ferried across by the rickety canoe to the other side of Agboyi, a community of about 30,000 dwellers. It has existed for over 500 years, but remains undeveloped.

The National Primary Health care Development Agency (NPHDA) has disclosed that 3,027 out of 121,396 pregnant women were tested HIV positive during the first round of the Maternal and Newborn Child Health (MNCH) Week.

A representative of the Agency, Victoria Azodoh made this disclosure at the three day seminar on Reproductive, Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) for Wives of North Central Governors in Minna.

She also said that 1,870 out of 129,838 women of child bearing age also tested positive to HIV.

Shakitat Yakubu is 33 years old. She is a resident of Agboyi, a community in the Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Kosofe Local Government of Lagos State.

Yakubu, a mother of three, is expecting her fourth child as she is eight months pregnant. But rather than attend one of the numerous Primary Health Care (PHC) Centres that dot the area for her antenatal, Yakubu patronises Mama Nurat, one of the Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in the community.

Nigerian gynaecologists have finally admitted that the growing number of obstetric fistula cases (holes developed between the vagina and rectum or bladder) are as a result of surgical errors caused by doctors and healthcare professionals during medical procedures, most often, during caesarean sections (CS).

They conceded to this fact after several hospital-based studies proved that there is now an increase in iatrogenic fistulas, giving rise to more maternal morbidity and mortality.

Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Nigeria, SOGON has stressed the need for more women to be screened for reproductive tract cancers especially cervical cancer as well as the availability of radiotherapy centres.

It harped on the need for reduction in the high maternal mortality and perinatal rate in the country by training more skilled personal in prevention of post-partum haemorrhage as well as provision of drugs.

The federal government of Nigeria is planning to carry out free surgery and laboratory services for all fistula patients in all Federal Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centres in the country. This was announced by Nigeria’s health minister, Prof Isaac Adewole. The minister announced this while speaking at the National Stakeholders Meeting on Obstetric Fistula in Abuja.